Police chief 'hopes' London fire death toll won't reach triple digits

Police fear they may not be able to identify everybody killed in the Grenfell Tower disaster.


Six bodies have so far been recovered from the gutted 24-storey tower, while 11 have been located inside but cannot be removed.

The death toll from the blaze is 17, but that figure is expected rise significantly.

"We do believe that that number will sadly increase," said Metropolitan Police Commander Stuart Cundy

He said the six bodies which have so far been recovered from the scene were found outside the building.

Mr Cundy said: "It may be - and I just don't know - it may be that ultimately some victims remain unidentified.

"I won't know that until we've gone through the full recovery from Grenfell Tower and we know exactly what we've got and I anticipate that is going to take a considerable period of time.

"Not just the immediate recovery of the bodies we have found but the full search of that whole building we could be talking weeks we could be talking months - it is a very long process.

"There is a risk that sadly we may not be able to identify everybody."

Mr Cundy's voice at one stage cracked as he spoke to reporters about the emotional toll the disaster had taken on him.

While refusing to speculate on whether the total number dead would reach triple figures, he said: "From a personal perspective, I really hope it isn't, for those of us that have been down there, it's pretty emotional, so I hope it is not triple figures, but I can't be drawn on the numbers."

His comments came as Prime Minister Theresa May ordered a full public inquiry into the disaster...
[ rte.ie]
15/6/17
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